After the Rain

Not to focus too much on the weather, but it has been on all our minds this summer.  We finally got some rain -- maybe too much of a good thing.  I don't think it will help the corn much.  My lawn looks a little more alive -- what I can see of it under the fallen sticks and tree limbs.  No major damage,  but there are some big broken branches still in one tree, and I can't quite figure out where they came from, since they don't match the tree they're in. . . I need to look at it from another angle.

Finding the perspective to understand anything -- past, present, or future, is always the challenge.  A friend of mine and I have been talking about the future of libraries, especially the public library.  She has a good vision of what might be created, but it is hard to get that perspective on the future.  She sent me this interesting link to another blog The Ubiquitous Librarian

How could I not like an academic librarian talking about data and decision making and referencing The Very Hungry Caterpillar?   In addition to having excellent reading taste, he asks how we can plan for a future that is unclear using data from the past?  It's a fair question. 

In the course of my work as an online reference librarian, I look at a lot of library policies and a lot of library web pages.  Libraries are working hard to keep up with change, as they have all of my working life.  Libraries have always embraced new technology, and, often, made it their own.  We also have a long and important history of resource sharing. 

I've seen a lot of libraries looking at new models, not just providing databases, e-books, and other downloadable media, but reinventing their public spaces as well.   Almost all of them are using social media, and many allow interaction with the catalog -- tagging or rating books.   Urban UK libraries seem to have more newly imagined spaces, including cafes and child care, but a lot of libraries are working on the issue of relevance to the community in a lot of different ways.  If you have not looked at your own library's web site (or Facebook page or Twitter feed) check it out.

One of the issues is that, to date, our society's adoption of new information technology has been cumulative.  Movies did not replace stage plays, television did not replace movies, mobile video has not replaced television -- and the same is true in print media, and though newspapers have folded, many are still in print and viable.

I am sitting in the neighborhood coffee shop -- I have my computer, smart phone and a print book with me;  the daily print newspaper is on the counter for people to share, along with a rack of print magazines.  The library  across the street has almost the same profile, adding the thousands of books (and the need to bring your own coffee, which is allowed). 

Because people expect both cutting edge technology and traditional services, and because everything costs money, the cumulative effect is part of the questioning process.  We can't assume anything will go away, even if economics dictate cutbacks. The obligation of libraries to serve everyone in the community is also a factor -- it's where people go when they can't afford their own technology.  Public libraries have been the providers of public computers since the early 1990s, and now they are lending e-book readers and iPADs, and providing wireless Internet access to clients and visitors alike.  They also provide a lot of free education on the uses of technology -- both technical and content based. 


What's your perspective?

All of today's photos were taken at the Woodland Dunes Nature Preserve, Two Rivers, WI

Heat Advisory

Another heat advisory, another day in the library.  Your Kindle app won't get you a quiet air-conditioned workspace with free WiFi. . . though, as we library advocates are quick to point out, you can use your Kindle or other e-reader to borrow library books, and, if you have the Kindle Fire or the Nook Color, to access the library's free WiFi. 

I actually have a semi-quiet workspace, because my quest for electricity has me in the young adult corner of the youth space, and I can hear the clunk of blocks from the play corner.  Unusually enough, I have earphones with me, so I could log into iTunes and go totally 21st century, but I'm okay with people playing and reading aloud -- and even talking about books! 

Not quite unrelated picture of the day -- this is one of the book boxes that the United States Lighthouse Service sent to the Lighthouse Keepers.  Since Keepers were frequently moved to different locations, all the boxes were numbered, and a librarian somewhere made sure that people did not get the same box twice.

Friends of Rock Island State Park
Wisconsin Department of  Natural Resources: Rock Island State Park

Surrounded by books -- and knowing I already have too many checked out -- I have a lot of both respect for the librarians and sympathy for the Lighthouse Keepers and their families.  The lighthouse on Rock Island is restored to 1910 and is a lovely, airy space, even on a very hot July day.  It doesn't take much imagination though, to think that it might not have been quite so pleasant for a family of 10 in February, though they may have been able to move to larger Washington Island when the shipping lanes closed for the winter.  Still, I'm sure they looked forward to their boxes of books.

Lighthouses are mostly automated, now, and books are becoming so.  How does that change our experience of books and reading?  Race car driver Danica Patrick was recently advised by her fans [on Twitter, of course] that if she used an e-reader, no one would know that she was reading recent bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey.

She said:
"I'm holding the book, baby," she said. "I like to turn the pages. It's the same reason I like to take a cork out of a bottle of wine. It's romantic. I like to turn the pages and I like to see how far I am, and then I look over at my husband and I say, 'Look, honey, see how far I am?'
"I finished the 514 pages that were in that first book. It's sad I even know that, but it felt like a victory for me."For Danica Patrick, 50 Shades of Red (ESPN W)

I was on vacation with a friend who said she liked big bookmarks, because it was easy to see her place. I don't know if people looking at the page numbers of their e-readers feel the same way or not.  I read print books, but I do most of my news and sports reading on my phone or computer -- though I still have the New York Times on Sunday and Sports Illustrated and the New Yorker delivered to my house.  I like holding them in my hand.  But am I just fond of a relic from the past?  How much value does that "romantic" feeling Ms. Patrick described have, when e-books and boxes of wine are cheaper to produce?   Has anyone done the math on the environmental footprint of the electricity needed for e-reading (across all platforms) vs. the cost of printing, distributing and recycling print materials?

More important to my mind, has anyone done any brain research to see if we process electronic information differently?  And is that difference important?  I write non-fiction of all kinds -- this blog, work reports, curriculum plans, email, cover letters, resumes -- at the computer.  I learned, as a journalism student in a high school with manual typewriters, to compose at the typewriter,  and was perfectly trained for the transition to computers, which I have used throughout my working life.  However, I write fiction and poetry in longhand, and make corrections even on poems I've typed up on printed copies of the poem, with a pen, not on the computer.

Is it habit?  personal preference?  or does the physical medium make a difference?

Should we find out, before we decide to no longer teach handwriting in our schools?
Cursive out of Common Core Standards
Schools Debate Handwriting


It is easy for me to see the questions -- the answers are more difficult.  However, shouldn't we be questioning everything we do -- from changing our reading habits to changing our cultural institutions to global warming?  And shouldn't we find a way to return to civilized debate and scientific exploration rather than screaming at each other about issues too important and too complex to be reduced to sound bites or bytes?

The upside of the drought here in northeastern Wisconsin has been really beautiful, sunny days -- more than warm enough to go swimming, which is unusual. Of course, the water has to be clean enough to swim in, which is not true everyday.  So I would also like to ask some questions about xeriscaping, factory farming, and other threats to the Great Lakes.
Wisconsin Beach Health
Xeriscaping
Natural Landscaping University of Wisconsin Press (print or e-book)

An education revolution beckons in the digital age - KansasCity.com

An education revolution beckons in the digital age - KansasCity.com

I love Michael Wesch because he asks such good questions -- what are we doing, why are we doing it, how might it be different?

I was raised as an advocate for intellectual freedom, and have never been comfortable with limiting or filtering information.  I realize that this is a complex question in the digital world, but it's a fundamental philosophy question in child raising:  do you 'child proof' your home, or do you teach your child how to distinguish danger and react to it?  Obviously, in a perfect world, you do some of both.  However, creating a completely safe environment for a teen or young adult is not possible, so it's important that the child has a lifetime of moral values and decision making practice to use as they navigate the world.

I've been confused for a long time by discussions in schools that have two threads (and sometimes are discussed in the same meeting or time frame).  Thread A.  "What are we going to do about not having enough computers and internet access for all our students?"  Thread B.  "How can we keep students from using their cell phones / electronic devices in school?"   It seems that there is an obvious relationship between the answers to the two questions -- what if, instead of spending a lot of time and effort on B, we used the power of personal electronics to help solve A?  To be fair, some high schools are beginning, too slowly, to do this.  Are there risks?  Yes, but manageable ones.  Students who are determined to cheat will find a way to do so, but the answer to that is not taking away the tools of cheating (which include pens, pencils, and chewing gum) but to creating engaging assessments that are not based on memorization, and therefore don't lend themselves to cheating. And there are other ways to create disincentives or change the school culture as well.

I know change is difficult, and I also know that there is a lot of work going on in education today to try to use new media and technology tools,  and  to engage students in creative work -- some of it spectacular, some of it stymied by rules and fears. 

So what is the answer?  What should education look like in 20 years?  or 5?

Unrelated picture of the day:

It's Not All About You: What Privacy Advocates Don't Get About Data Tracking on the Web - The Atlantic

It's Not All About You: What Privacy Advocates Don't Get About Data Tracking on the Web - The Atlantic

Very interesting and well written article.  Everyone using the Internet should read it with care.

Please and Thank You

Found this following one of those "most emailed links" having gone to NPR from the National Weather Service's Facebook post on the article "What if Dorothy Had A Smartphone". . .  As a lifetime feature article reader, I do like these random ideas and articles -- when I don't find look up from the computer to find I've been reading for hours.

So, are people less polite?  I remember noticing, when I was in Spain in the summer of 2001, that people there took time to chat before beginning a transaction in a store -- and I understood why people elsewhere thought US citizens rude.  If that trend to the bottom line without even a little bit of politeness, that seems to be a bad thing.

Since I mentioned it, here's the tornado story:  http://www.npr.org/2012/03/13/148525605/tornado-tech-what-if-dorothy-had-a-smartphone

And here's a shout out to the NPR URL creators, who include the name of the article in the link.  What an easy classification tool.

Photo of the day:  Ice on the Bay -- Nicolet Bay Beach, Peninsula State Park, Door County, WI

Overview of responses | Pew Internet & American Life Project

Pew Internet and American Life:  Connected Lives

I'm happy to see someone is thinking about the relationships between hyperconnectivity and society -- what do you think?

Home - iPhone Appography - SJSU Subject Guides (LibGuides) at San Jose State University Library

Home - iPhone Appography - SJSU Subject Guides (LibGuides) at San Jose State University Library

I thought this was interesting -- not just for the content, but for the idea of creating a bibliography of apps.  They think it will be the bibliography of the 21st Century -- what do you think?

I admit, I've been thinking about the conflict of technologies -- because it's March, and I'm a major fan of college basketball, I have an app on my phone called Bracket Bound (I actually have a whole folder of sports apps, but that's another story).  I also have a TV subscription with a DVR.  Because I don't want to put my entire life on hold for two weeks, I've set it up to record the games of my favorite teams and conferences.  Well and good, but that also means I have to avoid not only the Bracket Bound notifications, but also the Facebook posts of my good friends at the UNC Alumni Association, Northwestern Alumni Association, UNC Athletics, and NU Athletics.  And, though more 20th century but still on my phone,  the "Breaking News" email notifications from The Daily Northwestern. 

It makes one think about both the positives and negatives of knowing everything instantly.  This, of course, has always been a problem for time shifters.  Long before the invention of the DVR, one Chicago television station used to replay the Bears game at 10:30 at night.  The news stations, even on competing channels, used to warn people before they gave the score, so those planning to watch the replay could leave the room and still enjoy the game.

I love my phone, and, even if my apps reflect my interests -- the most money I've spent for an app was for the New York Times Crossword Puzzles -- I like many aspects of being connected all the time -- but I think we should be talking more about the advantages and disadvantages.  And that's before we get to the serious ethical issues -- like the new Google  Policy and what the trade offs will be among safety, privacy, and instant access.

Still fond of school libraries -- sign this petition

Apparently, the President wants to know what the people of America think about issues.  What a concept!  I do believe that we could return to representative democracy and a place where we can debate things rather than shouting at each other. . .

http://wh.gov/Tzj

 I think school libraries need more than just certified librarians -- they need certified librarians that have the time to create curriculum and teach, they need trained support staff to maintain the collection and help kids borrow books, and they need computers as well as books.  And probably a few ebook readers as well.  But this is a start, so go ahead and sign the petition -- and create your own.

This Thanksgiving week I am more grateful than ever before for my family, my church community, and my friends.  Remember to be grateful for all we have this week.  Happy Thanksgiving. 

 

I'm the 99

American Schools in Crisis

American Schools in Crisis


A little food for thought as we move through the Labor Day weekend -- how are we honoring workers this year?

Another Word Picture

I love these word pictures.  This is the word picture for my collection of bookmarks on Copyright found at http://www.delicious.com/aahunc/copyright

Librarians often are asked copyright questions, and sometimes we explain the rules even when that's not popular information.  It is both complex and controversial -- but people also want credit for the work they've done. I still think the best information on the subject of copyright in education comes from the Stanford University Libraries.    I know people are looking for a quick and easy list of what to do or not do -- if you find one, let me know.

Click on this symbol to find out about Creative Commons Licenses

How I spent my summer vacation. . .
I learned about this from a student in my library management class today;  it makes word cloud shapes.  This star is the word cloud of my bookmarks saved on Delicious.com;  more than 3000 of them from many years of being a school librarian and saving bookmarks.  This program has a lot of shapes, and it is fun, as well as having potential as a literacy and writing tool. 

You can type in any URL and then choose a shape.  This is News and Views from Norway today.

Norway

I've been getting my news on the tragedy in Norway from this website, Views and News from Norway, published by a woman I knew at Northwestern.  It is interesting to read most days -- I've been their Facebook Friend for some time -- but an important front line source in difficult times.

If you want to try for an international perspective in news, this site from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and this one from the Internet Public Library are useful.  The feature on "Today's Front Pages" from the Newseum in Washington, DC is fun as well as informative.    They don't replace a good collection of newspaper databases, but they do provide perspective that's sometimes lacking in our U.S. focused news reporting.

Where do you turn when something happens?  Where do you get your news each day?

What happens on the Internet every 60 seconds

What happens on the Internet every 60 seconds

I saw this posted on the Appleton Public Library website; they got it from MSNBC. It's a beautiful graphic, and it shows clearly why information overload is a challenge. Of all those things out there -- how many of them are important? Interesting? Vital? Nonsense?

I've used a lot of new tools this summer, and many of them are designed to collect and organize information, but does that really create organization, or does it just tempt us to click on everything and save it for later? Have any cultural anthropologists looked at our obsession with documenting every moment of our lives -- a hundred times? I know children less than 6 months old who have 300 pictures on Facebook. Who is going to have time to look through all this stuff? Of course, I shot well over 300 pictures during my two weeks in Ireland -- on film. It isn't the medium. . . entirely.

Future of Libraries -- or at least, Federal Support for Libraries

This was in my wikispaces inbox this morning -- if you go to the web site, you do have to sign in, but you can do so with a variety of IDs, including Google.  You have the opportunity to both create a comment on what you think the future direction of the institute should be, and to vote on the comments and ideas already posted.  

I think the library world sometimes becomes too inwardly focused, and is too quick to complain -- here's a chance to say what you think in a forum where you'll be heard.  Check it out.

From IMLS to members of imlsupnext   Jul 20, 2011 4:36 pm

Dear Colleague,

Did you know that there is an exciting conversation going on about future directions for the Institute of Museum and Library Services? On Friday, July 15 we launched http://imls.ideascale.com to engage the public in discussions that will help to shape our next five-year strategic plan. Since Friday, over 90 people have joined in. They are sharing new ideas, voting to agree or disagree with ideas and providing comments. We will use this input to help develop our plan, which will provide a roadmap for future activities, help us communicate clearly and concisely about agency results, and provide for accountability.

We know the years ahead will be full of rapid change and we want your ideas about how we can carry out our statutory responsibility “to support museum, library, and information services to meet the information, education, research, economic, cultural, and civic needs of the people of the United States.”

So visit http://imls.ideascale.com and participate. You may want to check on the conversation a few times during the coming weeks to see new ideas and add your comments. The site will be open for business until August 12, 2011.

I hope that you will participate and share this message with your networks.

Sincerely,

Susan H. Hildreth
Director, Institute of Museum and Library Services

The Connected Life

I have always paid attention to new books wherever I am;  I don't think either collection development or professional reading are things you do only at your desk.  I used to spend time in bookstores writing down titles and ISBN numbers of books I thought would be good for the library -- now I capture the ISBNs with the "red laser" bar code app on my phone.  [it takes about the same amount of time, actually].

This morning, I opened the daily Unshelved in my email -- and if you're not reading this library comic every day, you should be -- and found an ad for this book TouchPoints: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest of Moments.  I followed the link and read part of the sample chapter.  I went from there to my public library Manitowoc Public Library and looked for the book in the catalog, after signing in.  It wasn't there, so I clicked on the "I need material" tab and was given the option to create an interlibrary loan request or to recommend a purchase.  I recommended that the library purchase the book, including the link to the Wiley page.  The automatic message promised that the library staff would get back to me but recommended I call the library if I needed something immediately.  [And we need to continue to provide that option, and the really old fashioned option of going to the library and talking to someone.].  I then logged into Goodreads and added the book to my [ever growing] "to-read" list. 

Even though all my interactions have to do with reading a print book, I used six web sites (including my email program and this one) to discover, explore, recommend and capture the information about this book.

People talk all the time about the digital generation, and about how students are constantly connected, and this is what they're talking about. The readings all focus on the creativity piece, and the sharing piece -- which I'm doing right now.   It's similar to what Jenny: The Learning Librarian said about students creating their own videos of summer camp. 
 
My point today is that we need to be sure that our students can access all these tools and use their phones or other devices to access them.  I think the risks (cheating, distraction) are worth the rewards (engagement, remembering assignments, finding new connections). 

I'm not losing sight of some of the concerns about capturing experiences rather than having them (a concern my camp counselors had about still photography as well) or the importance of  human interaction. We need to talk about those another day -- possibly after we've read the book. 

Hemlock Trail Peninsula State Park, WI

Every day should have a picture. 

Common Core Standards and Libraries

Thanks to Jean Parks, Librarian in the Appleton Area School District, for this link to library standards and the newly adopted Common Core Standards. 

I think the Common Core Standards are a good idea, and I like the information literacy components that are included.  How they will be implemented remains to be seen, but it is bound to be interesting.

A big shout out to Pam from my class who posted a great article today that I've forwarded to all my colleagues.  Again, good ideas and lots to think / talk about.  The article talks about restructuring libraries for today's users, and makes a lot of good points.  Changed but Still Critical: Brick and Mortar Libraries in the Digital Age.  I downloaded his free book because I liked the title.  Machines are the Easy Part , People are the Hard Part  I have only read a little bit of it, though it is a lot of very short mini essays.  I especially enjoyed hearing him say "don't advocate for libraries", something I learned on the Connecticut Library Association Executive Board in 1988 -- libraries are buildings, which don't do anything -- advocacy should focus on librarians, library staff, and library programs -- and maybe collections, but they don't DO anything, either, nor would they exist without staff. 

I am going to admit that I'm getting more comfortable with reading things on my tiny phone screen. . . but I don't want to give up print books just yet.  And there's no way to annotate PDFs that I could find.

On a completely different topic, but one which has generated a lot of interest among those living on the shores of Lake Michigan -- here's the story on the alewife die off.  Alewives

"We been up nort'" Reprise from Guys and Does (imagine the music)

The advantage of going away is a new perspective.  I was able to be outside, which is always good, including camping, fires, swimming, and stargazing.   I was mostly cut off from the computer ( the wifi in the snack bar doesn't work when the wind is off the lake) so I was able to relax.  I did begin reading A Whole New Mind as well as 21st Century Curriculum and learned that I have a much greater comfort level with reading in print but that I also suffered computer withdrawal symptoms when people would ask things like "what's the weather going to be" and I would realize that my phone would only say "No Service". 

I now feel ready to tackle the work for my classes and for next school year.  I've gotten past just being hurt and angry, about the politics of school budgeting in Wisconsin, though I have not gotten over the need to work in the political process to change things.  On to working on my actual assignments (though this blogging project has been my favorite all summer).

"Umbical Cord II:   Nicolet Bay Snack Bar, Peninsula State Park, WI.  Missing from the photo -- the man charging his cell phone in the booth next to the outlet; he was not gracious about sharing the electricity and I didn't think he wanted to be in a picture. . .

Thanks to everyone who commented on my blog. . . please keep reading.  I've also discovered that I want the interactive experience -- I don't want to just be talking, I want to know what YOU think.

Bing, The Cherry Musical and Guys and Does were the two musicals I got to see at American Folklore Theater.  If you have a chance to get to Door County, I can't recommend them highly enough.  The songs still in my head:   "Work hard, Play harder" from Bing and "Up Nort'" from Guys and Does. 

Sven's Bluff, Peninsula State Park.  I saw a sea gull chase an eagle off the water in an apparent fishing territory dispute.  Overlooks

"up nort'" Homework on Vacation

As I drive out of the park, away from my campsite and into town, my phone beeps to show that it is now receiving messages;  all the messages since I drove out of range yesterday. I am avoiding the temptation that represents.   It's 85 degrees, unusual for the area but a beautiful summer day.  We went swimming at 7:30 last night (the water was refreshing -- I have not looked up the water temp, like wind chill, some things you don't actually want to know.) 

However, this morning I am at the Fish Creek Public Library, using their lovely, portable desks so I can be near the electricity.  My traveling companion works in a public library in another state, so part of our breakfast conversation was about post-apocalyptic fiction and what the future of ebooks might be in a world without electricity.  Even on vacation, I'm thinking about my work and my homework.

I took a close look at the introduction to Curriculum 21 (edited by Heidi Hayes Jacobs, ACSD, 2009) this morning and was struck by a few ideas: 

"There is rising concern about 21st century skills and tools for our learners, although it is noteworthy that as of the writing of this book, almost 10 percent of the 21st century has already passed."  (p.2)  I have thought for quite some time that we should stop talking about 'technology integration' and '21st century skills' as something which we are going to do in the future and move ahead to an assumption, for example, that all schools will have available, accessible technology.  [Though, when I mentioned my concerns about school reform this morning, my traveling companion did say "you mean, you expect someone to pay for that?"  Though we agree on the need for education and the concept of "the public good" that is by no means a given in our current political climate]. 

We may not be able to change the funding structure or the political climate immediately, but we can, and should,  change the things in our control -- such as school policies which allow students access on their personal devices, including phones, and the policies which limit access to free productivity tools.  We need to reorient our thinking about the dangers of computer access to the same kind of manageable 'attractive nuicence' we deal with every day on the playing field, in the gym, and even in our classrooms, where scissors and chemicals and electricity all are available -- for use or misuse.

Let us all take as our watch words:  "Prepare the child for the path, not the path for the child."

Language lesson for the day.  "in Latin, curriculum means "a path to run in small steps."  We negotiate and choose that path, but ultimately it is the students who determine how they will, or if they can, take steps on the path. . ." (p.2).  I  suppose I should have known what the word origin was, but I didn't, and I think it creates a really interesting context for thinking about curriculum design. 

I usually skip introductions, but I'm glad I read this one.  I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the book -- from my beach chair.  I especially want to see what the author has to say about "four program structures that need to be seriously altered and altered in sync with one another:  schedules, the grouping patterns of learners, the configurations of professional personnel, and the use of space (both physical and virtual).  (p. 5)
I hope that she has some constructive suggestions as to how we can move the schedule away from being driven by the bus companies and the sports schedules to being something that works best for most students -- and teachers. 

Fish Creek Public Library -- portable lap desk.  [The librarian told me she bought them at Walgreens, on special, two years ago.  She's looking for more if you run across them. . .]

Umbilical cord of the 21st Century 

Excellent use of a very small space.

Connections and Community --- and a thought provoking video

Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability | Video on TED.com

This video came to me from my friend Lauren, who is also a librarian, but an academic music cataloger -- in library land, it is rather as if a tennis star knew a NASCAR driver -- both professional athletes but in very different worlds.  We met through a friend who is yet another kind of librarian, though a school librarian and a children's librarian are more like, say, baseball players in two different leagues.  I've been several kinds of librarian, which is considered unusual.  That could be the whole topic of an essay, but what I'm really thinking about is connections and community.

I now get email on my phone, and, in an attempt to simplify my life, am trying to have one main email address, so much of my professional mail in terms of online groups and communities now comes to that address.  And I scroll right past it.  What I click on are the items from people I know.  Sometimes, they contain brilliant and interesting professional or personal growth items, like this one, and I have my blog idea for the day.

When I've found all the emails from friends and family, and all the ones with work attached -- like online bills -- I will  go back and read the listservs and community newsletters.  Occasionally, they make the first click cut if they have really interesting headlines -- or if I have extra time.

Which leads me to my question of the day about creating online communities and about technology integration.  I encourage faculty to join online communities;  I sign up for lists and add things to Google Reader (where I am more likely to have my attention caught by good headlines, because I've gone to the site intending to do some professional reading);  I try to organize incoming things into folders -- but I am buried by things I'd like to read -- much of it relegated to the someday that never comes.  I think the forwarding rate of routed magazines, if studied, would show that it wasn't /isn't that different with print materials. It's not helpful to let it create dusty stacks -- physical or electronic -- or shame.  We should probably celebrate, instead, the gems that do make it to the top.

So the question remains -- how do we take advantage of all the information out there and all the opportunities to learn new things or adapt new techniques -- without being overwhelmed? 

Email remains our 'technology integration' success story.  We put it on everyone's desk, we let them play solitaire to learn how to use the mouse, and we encouraged them to use it for personal correspondence to provide the ultimate carrot "you could see pictures of your grandchildren."  The same carrot works for Skype -- most of the people my age I know who Skype have either distant grandchildren or students studying abroad -- but what of other technologies?  Can we afford to give everyone an iPAD and let them play "angry birds" at work?  Probably not.  In education, we have moved back to thinking that if people really want to have their own technology, they will buy it, but that may not be true with shrinking budgets and shrinking salaries. 

All that, before we get to the real question -- which technology?  which tool, which group, which community?  What are our priorities?   Should we look at what's the newest thing out there?  Or would we be better off concentrating on perfecting the use of tools which students and teachers already have? 

We know there's some value in  relying on serendipity and the good taste of our friends.